AMMAN — As besieged Gaza enters its tenth day, the latest
statistics from the
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) confirm the deaths
of 15 journalists. This includes eleven Palestinians, three Israelis, and one
Lebanese journalist. CPJ is also actively investigating more than 100
unconfirmed reports of other journalists who are missing, detained, threatened,
or killed. Additionally, there have been reports of damage to media offices and
journalists' homes.
اضافة اعلان
Some activists have taken to social media to
discuss the
targeting of journalists, highlighting the differing treatment of
Palestinians inside Gaza compared to Western journalists. Many journalists
within Gaza have described their challenging working conditions. They emphasize
that without stable internet connections and electricity, it is difficult to
report news in real-time. Freelance journalist Rakan Abdelrahman pointed out
that there is no safe place to work from. He told Al Jazeera that even
journalists wearing clearly marked press vests and helmets have been targeted.
Israel has become accustomed to target
journalists
Director of
Al Jazeera's Amman office, Hassan
Al-Shoubaki, told
Jordan News that Israel has become accustomed to
targeting journalists. Several human rights organizations have demanded
international intervention to pressure the occupying state to stop targeting
journalists, especially after a large number of them were killed in the first week
of the aggression against Gaza.
Al-Shoubaki considered, "This is the
Israeli policy approach towards journalists because they are eyewitnesses to
what is happening in Gaza. Today, the occupation army is bombing journalists'
headquarters, and no safe area in Gaza enables journalists to do their
work."
Shoubaki believes that the killing of
journalists is a blatant violation, calling for an Arab and international
stand. He explained that it is clear that journalists are bothering the
occupation armies by transmitting pictures and facts to the point that they
have begun targeting ambulances, making it difficult to treat them.
He also pointed out that Israel does not distinguish
between a journalist, a civilian, or members of the resistance. It holds
everyone accountable and attacks them barbarically. Targeting journalists is a
message from the
occupying state to leave Gaza.
"As long as there is occupation, there
must be resistance, and resistance is a legitimate right guaranteed by the
charters," according to Shoubaki.
Israel targets Palestinian and foreign
journalists alike
Meanwhile, Nidal Mansour, founder and
director of the Center for Defending the Freedom of Journalists, told
Jordan
News that the Israeli record is full of war crimes, including targeting
Palestinian and foreign journalists alike. This is not the first time, and the
goal of this is that the
occupation army does not want to reveal their crimes,
especially since Israel is a country that does not abide by all humanitarian
laws.
More than 40 media institutions were
destroyed
Mansour highlighted that there is very little
information about the deaths of Palestinian journalists, including ones who
have been missing. He said, "There is no information about them. More than
40 media institutions were destroyed. This is the beginning of the aggression
and
crimes practiced by the occupation army against a defenseless people."
Mansour explained that when there is impunity
and accountability, the state places itself above the law, and this is exactly
what Israel does. Mansour called on journalists to be safe and careful, as
nothing is more important than their lives and safety. He called on all
international institutions working in the field of human rights and journalists
to stop these crimes.
Furthermore, journalist and former MP Rula
Al-Hroob said, "The Israeli occupation killed Sherine Abu Aqleh in cold
blood. Israel has a history of targeting journalists, and we expect more of
them to occur because in this attack, Israel takes revenge by all means, and
most importantly, Netanyahu and Gallant described the Palestinians as
human animals, and this is a crime of racial discrimination. This means that they are
also committing ethnic genocide and religious genocide."
Primary goal to conceal the facts
Al-Hroub considered the killing of
journalists to be a primary goal to conceal the facts, especially since Western
media is biased towards Israel.
Journalist Baker Abd Alhaq told
Jordan
News that there is a significant restriction on the work of the media, as
some media outlets have announced their inability to complete coverage due to the
lack of fuel, and the occupation army continues to target media headquarters,
such as the area surrounding Palestine TV, stressing that if the situation
continues as it is, most of the channels may leave Gaza.
This will not be the last time
A legislative researcher and expert Yahya
Shuqair told
Jordan News that it will not be the last time that the
occupation forces kill a journalist, and since their establishment they have
been committing crimes that violate international humanitarian law, until their
Minister of War stated that he immediately ordered cutting off water,
electricity, and food from Gaza in a collective punishment of civilians.
Explaining that these crimes do not have a
statute of limitations, he called for the necessity of clarifying these crimes
to international public opinion and to those who believe that the occupying
state is the victim.
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